Cherry Blossoms with a Hint of Revenge and Art
by Kagemiyas
Summary: What would happen if Deidara didn't blow himself to bits on that faithful day against Sasuke? And if Konoha was able to take advantage of their critical states and capture them? Sakura's got her hands full when both boys are thrown into the same cell as her's. Deisaku, with casual hints of SasuSaku, too.
1. Team, Assemble!

**A/N**; Hi there! [: This is just a little fic I've been writing in my head for a while. I love pairing Sakura with both Sasuke and Deidara, and I was disappointed when there wasn't any fics for sasusakudei. So, I decided to make my own!~ Even though this is a sasusakudei fic, DeiSaku's going to end up being the main pairing. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

-**Cherry Blossoms with a Hint of Revenge and Art**-

-**ch1 | Team, Assemble!**-

* * *

_Boom. _

That soft thundering in the distance was all it took to catch the pink kunoichi's attention, leaving her body to stand idle in the busy street as she strained to check for chakras. A specific Uchiha's, to be exact. Her furry companions stopped, too, glancing up at their partner's suspicious face. Sakura couldn't tell what the heck was happening outside of town. She began her quick pace to the outskirts of the small, little village. When she got a better view on the rooftops, the healer bit her lip, trying to figure out just _why _her gut was screaming at her to pursue the _booms _from before.

She bent down, and asked one of her faithful dogs to go and see what was up. The furry creature ran off, leaving Sakura to piece together the puzzle. Somehow, there was a connection, but she just couldn't put her finger on it to identify it. What was it? Suddenly, there was a nudge down at her foot.

"We've got a lead," the remaining ninja dog told her. "We better go catch up."

Sakura nodded, and jumped into the trees. Her pace was quickening by the second, thanks to that wary feeling she was getting. Finally, caught up with the other dog, Sakura's jade eyes peered through the branches, only to find an argument between two boys. Blonde, and onyx.. Her eyes snapped wider, realizing just who those boys were. "Send the signal," the kunoichi's low whisper commanded, as she began to take note of the arguing boys below her. From the looks of their critical states, they were too drained to recognized Sakura's chakra. Not that they would, since Sakura had masked it a while ago.

Her head lifted, realizing the rest of her comrades had arrived. Once everyone had descended into the trees, Sakura prayed that they remembered to hide their chakras before coming here. They were so close to Sasuke; If they blew it now, someone was going to die.

Late as always, the masked sensi was the last to arrive. Sakura shot him an annoyed glare, which he merely shrugged in reply. It only took one nod from the ringleader, Kakashi, to let the performance unfold.

Sakura remembered the plan that Kakashi had made everyone memorize on the way here. The first thing was to take out Sasuke, but since there was the Akatsuki member here, Team 8 went in after him, while Team 7 took on Sasuke. For this mission, Yamato and Kakashi switched teams, so it didn't surprise anyone when Kakashi joined in Team 7's leap.

Sasuke, who was clearly surprised by the familiar faces, widened his onyx eyes, and tried to shuffle backwards, away from the Konoha nins. He wasn't using his Sharingan.. Maybe that was why it was so easy to get to him. It didn't take long for the chakra restraints to be placed on Sasuke, thanks to Sakura's strong grip. The raven struggled, wringing and shouting out threats. It was no use, though. Sakura held him down firmly, even though she didn't want to be the one who the threats were aimed at.

The healer stole a glance at the Akatsuki member, and saw that team 8 was having difficulties taking him down. Once Sasuke was good with the restraints, Naruto and Sai went off to help the others. Sakura, feeling bad for her former teammate, made a quick move to sharply bump his head to make him go unconscious. He didn't have to watch this. Her fingers glowing a green tint, Sakura began to heal Sasuke's wounds.

Her attention was quickly caught by sudden shouts from the battle nearby. It looks like that Akatsuki member was down, but Sasuke's newly formed cell had arrived. Kakashi dropped by, leaving the fallen enemy -Deidara, wasn't it?- with Sakura.

"He'll be useful," her masked sensi told her, before leaping back to join her other comrades.

Glancing back down at Deidara, Sakura cringed her nose. She guessed Kakashi wanted her to heal his critical wounds, like she'd done earlier with Sasuke's. But the thought disgusted her, considering the fact that this was the man who'd kidnapped Gaara. She sighed, brushing pink strands of hair away. _Can't we just kill him and go home? _Inner complained, as her Outer's hands began to glow green.

It wasn't long before Sasuke's cell retreated, and the Konoha nins began their trek back home.

* * *

The next time Deidara awoke, a blinding light was there to greet him. He groaned, feeling horrible. It didn't surprise him, though, since he remembered that fight with those damn Konoha nins. The fact that they had interrupted his fight against the Uchiha boy made him furious. That was _his _fight. They should of stayed out of it.

Deidara was about to let himself drift back to sleep, before remembering that _Konoha _nins had battled him. _Konoha, _as in, the village who wanted all of the Akatsuki dead. Pale blue eyes snapping open, he tried to sit up, but found restraints holding him down. Panic started to rise, but the blonde tried to fight it back and keep calm. _Leader's going to kill me if he found out._

Since sitting up was out of his options, Deidara glanced around. A hospital room. It didn't look like the organization's medical room, though, so that only meant that he was in Konoha's very own. Oh, yeah, Leader was definitely going to kill him. Even though it was no use, the Akatsuki member began to struggle against the restraints. His body was still weak from his fights, and they must of drugged him to be extra tired.

"Oh, you're awake," came a voice from above.

Deidara stopped his struggles, and slowly, his blue eyes raised to meet jade ones. His eyes widened, recognizing her face. Her pink hair. _This was Sasori's killer._

Now, he wasn't one to hold grudges against people- That was Kisame. But the resentment he was feeling couldn't be helped. If he could just get out of here, Deidara could kill her for killing his partner and leaving him stuck with idiotic Tob-_Tobi. _That idiot didn't even come to help him with the Konoha nins-! Good boy his ass.

"If you're planning on escaping, I would suggest _not,_" the pink headed girl said from the other side of the room. Her back was turned to him, but Deidara figured she knew he'd try it. When he didn't respond, she continued, "Your room has ANBU guarding it like bees and their honey. Once you're all better, you're going to be taken to the interrogation room, and then to jail."

The artist could only scoff. "So why tell me?" he finally asked, "If I have a terrible future ahead of me, whats the point in letting me know?" _I could of figured that out, anyway, _he thought with a frown. Sakura was her name, right? Well, she turned around, only to give him a glare. His frown deepened at that sight. It reminded him of that damn Uchiha; Always judging him, and his art. Anger flicked in his eyes, but Deidara calmed himself. Getting angered over a petty thing like this Sakura girl wasn't worth it.

"Because," she said simply, and started to approach him. She must of noticed him tense, since she rolled those pretty jade eyes of her's. "I'm only going to heal the rest of your wounds so you can get to that interrogation faster, and out of my hands." She'd mumbled the last part, but Deidara had caught it, taken offense.

"Oh, _sorry. _I must be a horrible bother to you, yeah. I'm so _sorry_," he said, drawling out those words. The artist ignored her death glares, as she helped him sit up after loosening the restraints. He could feel her glowering at him, but Deidara had ignored it.

"If I could, I'd kill you right now," Sakura muttered from behind him, starting the healing process. "But.. you might be useful." He flinched at her touch, but didn't say anything in reply. She continued talking, about nothing important, but her words never reached the blonde's ears. He wouldn't let her words get to him. But that didn't mean Deidara wouldn't be thinking about them, long after that Sakura girl left.

* * *

Deidara sat in his lonely cell, cheek in palm, twirling his literally dirty blonde hair around his fingers of his free hand. How long has it been since he'd been thrown in here? Probably a month or two or three. He didn't bother keeping track of time nowadays, despite what Sakura had told him that very first day in the hospital room, the Konoha nins were probably going to execute him for not giving up any information. Not that Deidara was _that _loyal to the Akatsuki, but because he simply did not want to.

He hoped the execution was going to be soon, because the artist could _not _take anymore of this confinement. If there was anything Deidara hated more than ugly art and Itachi, it had to be imprisonment. Being trapped in a small, wet space for a long time, limited things to do, and being just bored out of his mind. He _hated _this. Just kill him already.

As if the gods answered his prayers, his cell door was suddenly jerked open, letting a blinding light into the dark room. Deidara didn't even have time to react, as the ANBU guards grabbed his upper arm, and dragged him out. He didn't bother flailing and demanding to be let go- Its been this way for two months. Inwardly sighing, Deidara wasn't up for another interrogation. His body was so sore, he was sure he was going to be killed this time.

Though, the guards took him by surprise when they took a right, instead of a left, this time. His tired expression faded away into a more confused one. _Where the hell am I going this time? _he wondered, sneaking a glance to the masked guard to his left. Because of that fox mask, Deidara couldn't tell what was going on. _Are.. Are they going to execute me now? _he wondered, spirits rising. _At least I won't have to deal with that cell anymore, yeah._

As predicted, Deidara was taken outside for his execution- Wait, no.. There wasn't any crowds, or elderly faces glaring down at him, like how there was at his father's execution. He was suddenly blindfolded, but it only for a few minutes. The cloth was taken off, to reveal a little clearing. Three posts were standing over in the distance, near the beginnings of the forest that surrounded the area. A training ground? As if this day couldn't get any weirder, the blonde was lead over to a group of people talking. His visible eye wasn't able to catch any faces from his current position. His eyebrows shot up questioningly, when they'd turned around to greet him. Him, or his ANBU guards.

"Ah, yes.. Deidara, right?" the masked man asked, approaching him. The eye that wasn't covered by his mask glanced him up and down, causing the blonde artist to stiffen. This was the guy that chased him, during the Kazekage's kidnapping. Kakashi, if he remembered correctly. His blue eyes drifted over to the people behind him, and he saw the Kyuubi's host, along with that Sakura girl, some boy Deidara didn't recognize, and.. And Sasuke Uchiha. _What the hell is going on here? _

"So, ah, I suppose you already know our little dream team over here," Kakashi spoke, hand waving over to the group. "But in case you've forgotten, I'll introduce you." He began pointing out everyone, but their names never reached Deidara's ears. _I already know them,_ he thought, as that boy, Sai, smiled at him. He replied with an annoyed glare._  
_

Suddenly, Kakaishi clapped his hands together. "Alright, now that we all know each other, I think its time to tell you guys whats up." Deidara was pushed forward, and now he was inside the group. He took a second to glance around, only to find everybody but Sai to be glaring at him. Sasuke was actually glaring at everybody, though.

"You're probably all wondering what you're doing here," Kakashi began, leaning against one of the wooden polls, with his arms folded across his chest. "Well.. To make things short, Lady Fifth has instructed me to gather you five to form a little team that will eventually take out the Akatsuki." Realization washed over the artist, as his visible eye widened. So _thats _what Sakura meant when she told him that he 'might be useful'. The bridge of his nose crunched up. They were going to make him turn his back against the Akatsuki, huh? It wasn't like Deidara had any problem with that- He was forced against his will into that damned organization, after all. He's been looking for a way out since, but Pain was the only thing that worried him. There was going to orders for his head, and he was worried about which team was going to be assigned to get him.

But it was Kakashi's certainty that they were going to be able to take down the Akatsuki that made him laugh out loud. He earned glares from the Kyuubi host and Sakura, but it wasn't like Deidara wasn't used to threatening glares. Kakashi simply ignored him.

"Anyway," he continued, "we can't just go and attack the Akatsuki as soon as the sun comes up tomorrow. So, in the meantime, we're going to be a regular cell until given orders.. Just, we'll be alternating cell members." His eye looked over at Sasuke, meeting his gaze. "You and Deidara will be given citizen status, so I don't want any funny business with either of you. Got it?" Neither boys were going to say anything, so Kakashi kept going, "Currently, both of you are still criminals, and are being housed at the jails. You're going to have to earn your way out, through missions and good behavior. When the Fifth Hokage gives the okay, you'll be given a house to live in. But just because you're out of jail doesn't mean you can go ballistic on the village." Kakashi's stony look met Deidara's. "The ANBU will be monitoring your every move." The artist's expression didn't waver.

After a short pause, Kakashi looked around at his cell members, before standing up straighter and letting his limbs fall to his sides. "Good to see that you all understand. Dismissed," he disappeared in a cloud of smoke after that. Deidara was taken roughly by the shoulders, and guided back to the prison. He was able to sneak a glance at the others, his _teammates, _and saw that Sasuke was being treated the same. The blonde smirked at the back of his head, liking that he wasn't the only one getting pushed around by the big, mean ANBU cops.

* * *

When the Akatsuki member and Sasuke left, Naruto, Sakura, and Sai stayed at the training grounds to discuss the situation.

"This sucks," Naruto exclaimed, huffing like an immature child. Sakura rolled her emerald eyes.

"I didn't know that the price for Sasuke was this," she agreed quietly.

Sai seemed to be the only one who didn't mind. "I'm interested in seeing what this Akatsuki member can do," he told them in his monotone voice, as his eyes gazed in the direction Deidara was taken. Naruto groaned in disapproval. If their little cell became a little family again, Naruto could already that Sai and Deidara would be art buddies. He could see it now- Sai and Deidara laughing together, painting pictures and make little sculptures. That was a disturbing image.

Ignoring Sai, Sakura looked over at Naruto. "You're the only one who's allowed to see Sasuke," she stated. "Have you gotten him to say anything?"

Naruto shook his head of blonde hair. "No. Just the usual, '_screw off!' _and glares."

"Good to see I'm not the only one who doesn't enjoy your presence," Sai mused, another one of his fake smiles gracing his lips.

Naruto began arguing with the pale artist, though Sakura broke them up before things got physical with one stony glare at the two of them. Both had already suffered a lifetime of Sakura's beatings, and they didn't need anymore. "What do you guys think of Deidara?" she asked them, brushing off their earlier dispute. _  
_

"Tch. He looks like the same bastard that I fought months ago," Naruto answered with a scoff, folding his arms behind his head for good measure. "I don't know what Granny Tsunade was thinking. An Akatsuki in the village? They should just kill him now!"

"He could provide information we need," Sai pointed out. "He's probably not as bad as you think. Remember how you treated me in the beginning? Look at us now. We're.. Somewhat friends. It'll probably be the same thing with Deidara-"

"Stop defending him because he looks like Ino!" Naruto roared.

"He _does _look a lot like her," Sakura laughed. "Maybe its just his hair. He has a good balance of femininity and masculine, but its his long hair that throws you off.. I wonder what kind of shampoo he uses."

"This is definitively an appropriate time to talk about the hair products the enemy uses," Sai chuckled.

"He's not the enemy anymore, Sai," the pink kunoichi said, though, she look like she believed it.

"Yeah. He's our 'teammate'," Naruto put air quotes as he said that, with a roll of his blue hues.

"I bet our little enemy teammate has a bigger dick than you do."

"_Sai, you son of a bitch!"_


	2. Wanna Play a Game?

**A/N**; ... I think I owe an apology for the late post. Sorry, guys. I hope I don't run out of motivation to write this fic completely.. ._. Anyway, thanks for the lovely reviews, and here's the long awaited second chapter!

* * *

-**Cherry Blossoms with a Hint of Revenge and Art**-

-**ch2 | Wanna Play a Game?**-

* * *

The following days were uneventful for the newly assembled team, until the fourth week of training meets came.

The first two weeks of being together, it felt Team 7 were just fresh out of the Academy, with the way things were going. There was constant bickering, mostly between Deidara and _everyone_, Naruto kept throwing tantrums, and the icy stares coming from Sasuke was enough to silence the whole group. Kakashi eventually had to knock some sense into everyone, saying how they needed to act like a real cell and not immature children, or else the Fifth Hokage herself was going to come and have a _talk_ with them. It was enough for the original two and Sai to begin behaving properly.

The six nins were sitting near the three poles, on a short break, eating lunch together and making small talk. The conversation would drift from different topics, between dinner dates at Ichiraku, types of art, snow, and so on. Deidara would put his input in from time to time, Sasuke oocasionally 'hn'ing at things. It was rare to hear him speak, but it did happen every now and then. He normally kept himself busy with fiddling with his chakra restraint bracelet. Sakura noticed, of course, and her expression grew worried. _What if he managed to break free? _she wondered, but Inner shook her head, assuring her outer self that Naruto would take care of the Uchiha if he ever did. They were surrounded by ANBUs, and each one of the nins sitting here were experienced in battle. Surely, nothing _too _bad could happen..

Suddenly, there was fingers snapping in front of Sakura's face, snatching her out of her worrying thoughts. Her emerald eyes looked up to see Naruto's worried look, Deidara's skeptical expression, Sai and Kakashi's curious ones. "Huh?" the pink kunoichi hummed, looking around at all of them. "Did I miss something?"

"Looks like we've got an airhead," Deidara mused to himself, returning his attention to his sandwich in front of him.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows together, and opened her mouth to retort, "I'm not an airhead! I was thinking, thats all."

"Probably about nothing," he replied, coolly, taking a bite out of his food. He didn't even look at her.

Before Sakura could say anything else, Kakashi stood up, clearing his throat. "_Anyway, _lets get back to training," he announced, giving the blonde and pinkette a look that pretty much ended the argument before it even began. Naruto and Sai stood up, too, looking relieved that they wouldn't have to stop their friend from cutting off Deidara's windpipes. Sakura gave the artist a hard look, before joining her other teammates over in the clearing of the training ground, which he simply ignored. Sasuke was the last one to rise, and followed silently behind.

"So," the masked man said, clapping his hands together. "I say we do an all for one match. Yes, no?" When there was at least three heads nodding yes, he continued, "The border is the entire training grounds. Last person to lose their flag, or whoever's left by sunset, wins. Losers have to sit by the poles. No extreme justus allowed." Finished explaining, Kakashi pulled six red flags from his pouch, and handed them out. Deidara was huffing about the _no extreme jutsu _thing, seeing he'd have to settle for a taijustu method to win this little competition. The ANBU cops appeared from the shadows, approaching closer to the jail celled members. They both had received shuriken and kunai.**_  
_**

Once everyone was in order, the six stood in the middle of the clearing, waiting for Kakaishi's okay. "Remember, everyone, this is a simple match," he reminded, before raising his headband to reveal his legendary Sharingan. Sasuke made an unreadable expression, but said nothing of it. "I don't want any critical injuries, let alone dying. Ready? _Go." _He disappeared with his signature _poof, _leaving the rest to scattered into the trees.

Practically an hour later, Sakura was hiding down below in the bushes, breathing hard and covered with dirt. Five minutes after the match started, Sasuke had appeared behind her. She could only smirk, liking how her traitorous friend still thought of her as that weak, little child he left behind on the bench three long years ago. His charka wasn't masked, so he _must _of thought she couldn't sense him coming. Oh, how wrong he was. Sakura had felt him coming the second he was in a 20 meter radius of her. Sasuke probably thought it was clever to come up and try to steal her flag from behind, but as soon as he was close enough, Sakura extended her leg in a backwards kick, sending the avenger flying into a tree.

Thats when Deidara showed up.

He came down at her like a bird, descending from the trees, hand out and ready to snatch the prized red flag. Sakura barely had time to react, rolling herself off to the right and jumping to her feet. She quickly replaced herself with a clone, and ran off. That had been _too_ close. Deidara was fast to learn about the clone, though, since he sent a kunai knife straight into the clone's back. The two of them played a little game of cat and mouse before Kakaishi appeared and attacked Sakura. Deidara had helped her get Kakashi off her back, but before he got the chance to attempt stealing her flag again, Sakura was already gone.

Which lead up to the point where the pinkette was lying in the bushes once more, high on alert. She was not about to let the whole _get distracted, get attacked _thing happen again. _That'd be so embarrassing_, Inner exasperated. _There's only a few more hours left of light.. What if we get our flag taken?_ There was a sudden rustle coming from a few feet away, bringing Sakura out of her thoughts. Her breathing slowed, and she crouched closer to the earthen floor. The healer hoped that her pink hair wouldn't give her away. There was a mumble of words that she couldn't quite catch, and another rustling. There was a few seconds of quiet, making it seem like the area was cleared, and the kunoichi lifted her head above the leaves. Nothing.

Well, maybe except for that _crunch_ of twigs behind her.

Acting on impulse, Sakura leaped out if the bush, landing a few feet away with a soft _thump_. Green eyes met onxy, and her pink eyebrow quirked up at the sight of the Uchiha survivor. Her gloved hand lowered to rest on the top of her kunai pouch, never taking her stare off him. "Found you," Sasuke finally said, and put his hands up.

"What, are you finally going to start speaking to us again?"

"No. Well, possibly just you. Anyway, look. Why don't you and I have a truce?"

"Right to the point, hmm?" Sakura observed, and pursed her lips, pondering. A truce between her and the Uchiha would be beneficial, but what if he turned on her? _Then that gives us a legitimate reason to beat him to the pulp, _Inner quipped from her corner of Sakura's mind, grinning deviously, which Outer ignored. Because of these thoughts, it was hard to imagine that the healer ever felt affection towards Sasuke. ".. Okay," she steadily agreed, with a nod of her head. "But try to take my flag, and I will rip out your vocal pipes." Sasuke smirked at her additional threat, but said nothing of it as he approached closer.

"Whatever you say. Now, which little boy do you want to take out first?"

"Have the years spent with Orochimaru turned you into a pedophile?" Sakura asked, almost laughing. The Uchiha frowned, and she was afraid he was about to take back the truce, when he rolled his eyes. "I say we get Deidara," the healer finally answered, propping a hand on her hip.

".. Alright. I have unfinished business with him, anyway."

Sakura wanted to ask what he meant, when the images of the broken and bloodied bodies of the battle weeks ago flashed through her mind. "Oh," she said softly, before noticing Sasuke starting to walk away. _He comes just as quickly as he leaves, _mused the medic nin, chasing after him. (She couldn't help but feel some sort of irony here.) The two walked alongside each other, both trying to avoid the obvious tension, when her emerald eyes caught sight of his wounded arm.

"Your arm.." Sakura blinked, causing Sasuke to glance down at it.

"Is just fine," he replied, pulling the tattered sleeve down in attempt to conceal it, refusing to meet her glance.

"Let me heal it-" she started to say, but she was interrupted by being roughly pushed aside by the Uchiha. Seconds later, a kunai flew by, lodging itself into the trees behind them. The healer's pink looked up, finding a shower of throwing stars coming to rain down at her. _It s__eems like Deidara's having a great time with the weapons he's got, _she frowned, rolling out of the way and back onto her feet. As if that one little thought was enough to summon the blonde artist, he emerged from the forest, whilst Sasuke was _nowhere_ to be found.

Deidara strolled closer to Sakura, making no attempt to go after her flag. The two stood there for a moment, simply exchanging glares, when the taller nin opened his mouth. "So, I'm going to take your flag now." Emerald eyes rolled up to the sky, and the kunoichi jumped back to avoid the swipe of the small blade in Deidara's hand.

"You're incredibly annoying," the pinkette complained, not hiding the displeasure on her face. She lunged towards him, bringing out her a kunai of her own. The sounds of metal clashing together rang through the air as Sakura continuously swiped blindly at the artist, but it wasn't much use. Every time she threw a swipe at him, he would simply block and return the action. They battled it out with the knives until both ninjas grew tired of the constant cycle. For a moment, the two of them stood there, pausing their little game to catch their breath.

"You love me anyway," Deidara finally replied, grinning coyly at her. His visible eye abruptly grew wide in alarm, and the blonde twisted around to lash out at the Uchiha behind him. Sasuke narrowly avoided the slash of the blade by leaning back ever so slightly. Deidara glared at him, yapping on about how dishonorable and cowardly it was to attack an opponent from behind, which the avenger ignored and plainly 'hn'ed at him, causing the older male to get even more ticked off. Sakura blinked, surprised at the sudden turn of events. As she watched the two boys bicker, she noticed how neither was paying attention to her in the background. Especially Deidara, which left him unguarded and wide open. With a sneaky smirk, the pinkette got to her feet and strolled over to the still distracted Iwa native, and snatched his flag from his beltloop.

"H-Hey! Thats cheating, yeah!" He cried out, after taking a moment to realize what just happened.

"I saw my chance and took it," Sakura replied evenly, unable to hide the sneaky smirk forming on her lips.

Sasuke walked up to her, pushing the fuming Deidara out of the way in the process. "Good job," he congratulated, even though he still wore his uncaring expression. The healer didn't respond; Her emerald eyes narrowed into suspicious slits, which recieved a questioning look from the Uchiha, and she reached down and grabbed _his _flag. "Thats for disappearing back there," Sakura told him before he could angerly shout at her, holding both flags close to her. "You two know where the losers sit. Go on." She shooed them off, before walking off.

* * *

Hours later, when the sun was beginning to set into the hills, a very tired Sakura sat on the top of one of the poles, with a silent Sasuke, a complaining Deidara, and a grumbling Naruto on the ground below her. Kakashi and Sai have, and still were, going at it for almost two hours now. Sunset was here, and the four of them were waiting for the remaining nins to come back. Sooner or later, Kakashi emerged from the forest, carrying a beaten Sai over his shoulder. He highered his hand in his usual greeting, "Hey, losers!" His single eye glanced around at the group, and then laughed. "I guess I win." He only got grumbles for replies.

"Alright, everyone, now we're done with that, you can all go home now," Kakashi announced, dropping Sai to the floor.

"Home? Don't you mean cold and empty _jailcell?" _Deidara sneered, just as the ANBU came out of the shadows. Sakura frowned at this, not liking the thought of her comrades cooped up jailcell like that. She didn't have much time to ponder over that, because Naruto started asking for a ramen date again._  
_

"Only if you're buying," Sakura replied to his offer, pulling her gloves off.

".. Okay." Naruto looked sullen for a moment, but ran over to Sai, who was just getting up, asking for money. Her emerald eyes rolled up once more, but she caught sight of the bitter look on Deidara's face right before the ANBUs dragged him and Sasuke away.

* * *

**A/N**; That took me forever to write. u-u The fight scenes seemed a litter forced, but overall, I think this is an okay chapter.. Thanks for reading; See you in another two months!

edit; WOW I found a lot of mistakes. Of course, I found them at 3 AM, too, so I stayed up all night fixing them. The third chapter's almost done, by the way. I kinda wish FF had status updates or something.


	3. the Day Before

**A/N**; I'm actually being productive and updating in less than two months? .o.

* * *

-**Cherry Blossoms with a Hint of Revenge and Art**-

-**ch3 | the Day Before**-

* * *

"Something doesn't feel right," a suspicious Sasuke Uchiha murmured quietly to himself. Morning had come, and the onyx haired shinobi was his way over to the training grounds, like any other day, however, this time he tred the path alone. When it was time to go, no ANBU was there to roughly seize him by the arms and drag him to the practice fields. The only people there to greet the avenger this morning were ordinary prison guards that looked scared shitless because they where the unlucky people chosen to escort the criminal out. Sasuke followed them quietly out to the backdoor that he normally took to the fields, but his eyes where darting around, in search of the elite shinobis. The guards opened the door and beckoned him out, which he gladly did. As happy as he was for being able to walk by himself for the first time in weeks, Sasuke felt like something was ... off.

He could only wonder if that imbecile Deidara was going through the same thing. Probably not, considering who he was, but whoever was in charge today was dumb enough to let the _Uchiha _walk himself to the training meets, surely they were dumb enough to let Deidara out of his cell unsupervised.

.. No, Konoha couldn't have gained that much stupidity in his absence.

_Oh, I see, _the Sharingan user thought, coming up with a conclusion to the mysterious acts. _They're testing us to see if we can handle being put out in society again. _Nose wrinkling up in distaste, Sasuke suddenly became more aware of his surroundings. The ANBUs weren't exactly _gone_; they were most likely hiding in the woods, watching his every move. Escape.. Wasn't looking very likely.

His freedom from any human contact was short lived, however. The Uchiha survivor had reached the grounds in no time. Like all meet days, the silent boy ignored the greetings of his former teammates, although this time, he went straight to Deidara instead of his usual spot under a tree. The artist gave him a wary look as he approached. Sasuke didn't blame him; He really didn't want to speak to him, either. But if his suspicions were right, the two of them might be able to leave jail sooner than they expected.

"Did you have your ANBU guards this morning?" he asked the bomber, straight to the point, voice in an undertone, in case anyone was listening. Deidara quirked a blonde brow up, but gave a shake of his head, answering no. That was all Sasuke needed from him. Without a reply, the avenger walked away, ignoring the icy stares his back was receiving from the Akatsuki member.

When Kakashi finally arrived, last as always, he had a little announcement to the five other cell members. "Okay, listen up, kids," he said, chuckling at his 'kids' comment. Heh, he was so funny when he wanted to be. "Lady Hokage has granted us a mission. Unfortunately, we aren't able to go to the mission room and receive it personally, but I can serve as a messenger." A scrolled was pulled out of his pocket. Kakashi took his time unfolding the scroll, making Naruto impatient. "Ah, here we go. We are to stay at a small town on the border of the Fire country to attend a festival, where are target, Shao Meng, is going to be. Shao Meng is the thief who sells illegal items to the black markets, and we have orders to bring him in. Apparently, hes after a necklace that has a special poison hidden in it."

Sakura's emerald eyes sparked with excitement at the thought of jewelry and poison being involved in this mission. To be honest, she was expecting a boring escort mission, but this was great. Ever since the Suna incident, where a certain _someone _kidnapped the Kazekage and Sakura saved Kankuro, the healer had become very interested in poisons. She has been able to come up with her own unique types, and the itch to use some has been rising incredibly these last few weeks.

Unfortunately, not everyone was happy to hear about poisons. Deidara's expression darkened, but he didn't let much emotion show except for the fact that he was a little upset at the mention. Pale eyes shot a glance at the smiling kunoichi, causing his scowl to deepen. Just being around Sakura was a daily reminder how she had helped in the killing of his Danna, leaving Deidara stuck with that idiotic Tobi that didn't even come to his rescue when the Konoha nins interrupted his fight against the Uchiha brat. Deidara allowed a brief moment to grieve over Sasori's death, but only for a moment.

".. And thats basically it. We're leaving next week, so we have to practice, practice, practice!" Kakashi rolled the scroll back up, placing it back in its spot in his pocket. Everyone stalked over to the middle of the clearing, waiting for his orders on what they were going to do today, but the masked shinobi pulled Deidara and Sasuke aside to have a little chat with them.

"Look. I'm sure you're both aware of the less ANBU being around, so I think its time to tell you." Onyx and blue eyes glanced at each other briefly, before looking back over to Kakashi. "Both The following week and mission is going to determine whether or not the two of you can earn your citizen status and be granted freedom in the Hidden Leaf." When neither responded, Kakashi took this as their own way of saying okay. "Glad we had this talk." The three of them joined the others, and practice started.

* * *

"I say we let the kid break himself out of jail," a nearly fed up Kisame proposed, resting his gilled cheek against his fist. "He's stronge enough to, anyway."

Far away, in the rainy vidden of Amegakure, another meeting was taking place inside the headquarters of the Akatsuki organization. Pein had called the meeting to discuss the missing Deidara situation. He'd been gone for three months, and if what his sources say are right, he was still alive. After three months of nothing, the pierced leader decided it was time to take action and rescue his troublesome member. He suspected that Konoha would be on the look out for any Akatsuki activity, in case a pair was out to break out the blonde bomber, so he cancelled any and all missions, bringing all members back into the little village of Amegakure. Everyone had been forbidden to leave the rainy town.

But now that Konoha wasn't on their radar as much as they were the first month, it was time to start discussing ways to break their captive Akatsuki out of jail. So far, nothing but ideas being thrown out was happening, and everyone was getting twitchy. They've all been sitting in the same room for too long.

"But Tobi thinks Deidara-sempai needs help!" The masked man retorted, in reply to Kisame. "Who knows what unspeakably horrible things they're doing to poor sempai right now!" Various pairs of eyes rolled at this, but knowing Konoha, it was probably true. Maybe they'd chop off his hands, or sealed his mouths up. All four of them.

There was a silence to follow Tobi's outburst, allowing the group to ponder on any other ideas. "I think we should continue to stay back and see what happens," Konan spoke up, after a very long and awkward pause. "I don't think we don't have enough information on Deidara to break him out, either."

Pein was silent for a moment, continuing to puzzle on what to do with their missing member. "Konan is right," he sighed, "Even with Itachi having experience with Konoha's interrogation methods, it is still not enough." His Rinnegan glanced around at the five other people in the room, seeing no objections, so he raised his hands and waved a dismissal. Everyone but him and Konan left the room.

On their way out, Kisame spoke to Itachi, "Its been so long without blondy being around, eh, Itachi?" The Uchiha didn't respond, so he continued, "The organization sure has been quiet with him gone. Even Tobi has less of a spazz lately. I kinda miss Deidara's spunk, too."

"Hm.. I suppose the Akatsuki could use the excitement Deidara always gave," the shorter male agreed, his voice quiet and soft, as usual.

"He's missed a lot, too. Poor Deidara doesn't even know about the little treasure we've found," the sharkman laughed, as the pair stopped at the door of the headquarter's medical room. "Shall we pay the redhead a visit?"

"He's still recovering, Kisame," Itachi gave the blueman a skeptical look.

"If I had _my _core stuck in underneath rubble for months, I'd want some kind of company," Kisame told him casually, pushing the door open, making his partner huff out of irritation. Itachi stood outside the door for a moment, wondering _why_ he had to be paired up with this dunce, before following after the swordsman inside.

* * *

The day before the mission was suppose to launch, Deidara was relaxing in his cell, limbs stretched out everywhere over his uncomfortable bed and staring into space. The first few days of imprisonment were incredibly harsh on him. He had so much time on his stitched up hands, so much that he thought he was going to lose his sanity. The what ifs could never leave his mind, but by now, weeks or months or _whatever_ later, the artist had found other ways to ignore those thoughts. To keep those thoughts out and his sanity in, Deidara would think of alternate universes where _he _was the winner, the one who brushed pass all, and finally show his greatness to the world. They were childish daydreams, even he knew that, but they kept him sane. That was all that matter to him.

However, a certain pinkette would often sneak her way into his fantasies and ruin them. Not that he was surprised.

In the middle of a fantasy where Sasori finally admitted his art was nothing but crap, there was a loud knock on his metal door cell that caused the blonde to flinch. Caught off guard, it took a few moments for his beating heart to calm itself. The door was pulled open, allowing a foreign sunlight to stream into the dark and musty room. Pale eyes squinted at the figures before him, and he sighted two ordinary prison guards.

"C-Come with us! We have orders to take you out," one of them piped up, obviously frightened.

Deidara narrowed his eyes at them, and remembered what the Uchiha brat had told him earlier that day; the higher ups were finally testing to see if they were ready to be let out into society again. He knew he had to behave if he ever wanted a decent bath again, so the artist obeyed and quietly followed the men. They led him to another door, different form this morning's. One of them gestured for Deidara to go on and keep walking. Hesitant at first, he listened and followed the trail.

Perhaps it was another training meet? No, that wasn't right. It wasn't on the schedule.

The artist almost laughed at that thought. Even if there was a schedule, he wouldn't have been given one. Where would he put it? On the floor, next to the toilet?

The path coming to an end, the blonde bomber was greeted by a clearing emitting a _great _aroma that was filled with a handful of familiar people. Sasuke must have been sent out, too, because seconds later, the Uchiha stood right next to him. They exchanged suspicious glances, mostly at each other, when Naruto called for them -Sasuke- to join them. Both were reluctant to come, and Sakura had to march over and pull them along herself.

Deidara sat down on the bench of a large picnic table, that had a nice steaming pot in the middle. Bowls were stacked nicely right next to it. The Akatsuki member glanced over at Sai, who was sitting right next to him, with a puzzled expression. "Whats going on?" he asked the pale artist.

"We're having a ramen party," Sai answered, that creepy smile gracing his features. "It was Naruto's idea for pre-launch mission.. celebration thing."

"Tsunade okay'ed it," Kakashi quickly added, to avoid any questions on how he managed to sneak the jailed members out. "Besides, Ichiraku was kind enough to give us a pot of ramen. It would be rude not to enjoy it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can we start eating now?" Naruto asked, impatiently. The unpredictable ninja didn't wait for a reply; He grabbed a bowl and started to serve himself. When he was done pilling noodles into his bowl ("No, don't worry about us, Nine tails. We weren't going to eat anyway, yeah."), everyone else got their share. It was a rather pleasant evening; Just the six of them, excluding the ANBUs watching, having a great time and joking around. Sasuke managed to say three full sentences, catching everyone off guard. ("Teme! You've set a new record!") When the sun was set, and it was time to go, everyone walked away happy and content. Even the silent avenger, but his emotions were more calm than happy.

Looking back on it now, Deidara was somewhat glad that his last days at the Leaf were somewhat nice.

* * *

**A/N**; Hurry for motivation at 3 AM! I'm just glad this didn't take me three whole months to write. I start school soon, so hopefully that won't drag my writing pace down. I've realized that this fic is starting to become more and more of a Deisaku fic instead of what I've originally planned. The title's p inaccurate, but I won't fix it until I think of a better one. Lmao, I deserve a big fat _you tried_ star sticker. Anyway, thanks for reading!


	4. Sleeping With the Enemy

**A/N**;

* * *

-**Cherry Blossoms with a Hint of Revenge and Art**-

-**ch4 | Sleeping With the Enemy**-

* * *

At the crack of dawn, or at the crack of Satan's asshole, as Deidara referred to it, all five members woke up, ready and pumped for the away mission. Especially Sakura. After being stuck in Konoha for months, working hospital shifts and doing small missions, she was ready to get out and get on with this. Stopping briefly by her parents' house to say goodbye, she walked through the empty streets to the gates that lead to outside of the village, the healer let her mind wander. It would be interesting to be on the same team as Sasuke and Deidara, this time around. Neither Inner or her Outer self would admit to this, but she was happy that Sasuke was finally back were he belonged; With Team 7. Plus Sai and Deidara, of course.

At the thought of him, Sakura realized that this would probably be the first time she would ever be working alongside an Akatsuki member. She still thought of the bomber illy, but over the past few weeks spent with that loud, rambunctious jerk, the pinkette had grown fond of him without quite realizing it. The girl came to a complete stop, letting that thought replay in her mind. Was she.. Actually beginning to _like _Deidara? As a friend, of course. There wasn't any romantic feelings in the equation. None at all. Scoffing, Sakura began her walk once more. If one looked past his rude and bothersome outside layer, Deidara was actually.. Nice. When they didn't threaten to gut each other slowly and painfully, their brief conversations were .. nice. Sakura had seen the way he talks about his art, too. The passion and pride that's in his voice when he speaks of it was .. nice.

If there was any feelings between the blonde and pinkette, it was surely a brother/sister relationship. Yes, that was it.

Maybe her steps had an extra bounce in them, maybe they didn't.

Or maybe Sakura just couldn't tell.

.

Over at the gates, Naruto and Sai were the first two to arrive. Which was surprising that Naruto even got up this early. The two boys sat on the ground, backs leaning on the wall of the giant gate, chatting freely between each other. The knuckled headed ninja was obviously pumped to start the mission already; He was smiling more this morning. Sai, of course, noticed. He noticed everything.

"This mission sounds like a piece of cake. I've been on harder ones," Naruto bragged, waving his hand. "Have I ever told you about the time where I fought against the great Zabuza himself?"

"Where you battled bravely against his sidekick and got a bridge named after you? Yes, I'm quite familiar with this story," Sai replied, monotoned. His eyes rolled at Naruto's comebacks ("Do _you _have anything named after you? Yeah, I didn't think so!"), when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted their pink headed friend. They stood, and trotted over to meet with Sakura, exchanging shouts of hellos on the way there. Sakura lazily waved a gloved hand at them, with the corners of her mouth turning up in a small smile.

The three of them stood there for a moment, a pause in between them. "Kakashi-sensi isn't going to be here for another seven hours, so lets go sit," Naruto suggested, already turning to walk back over the spots that were previously filled by Sai and him. Sakura and Sai followed, pace slower than the blonde shinobi's. Once they were all seated comfortably on the ground, the discussion of who was going to catch Shao Meng first broke out. Feelings and egos were slightly bruised, but they all had their pros and cons. The decision of waiting and letting the days take their course was made, by Sakura, whom had the most butthurt.

Soon after the little dispute, the jailers arrived. They were both given quite nice uniforms for the mission, and Sakura's eyes lingered the longest. Especially on Deidara's. Remembering the thoughts from this morning's walk, her jade eyes forced themselves to look down at her heeled boots. Sat noticed this action, finding it intriguing. "Is it just me, or do you have a little crush on Deidara?" the pallid teenager mused aloud, looking over at the frowning kunoichi. Sakura simply ignored him, refusing to participate in his games and teases.

Unfortunately, Deidara had other thoughts.

"Hey, I don't blame her if she did, yeah," the Akatsuki replied, shoulders rolling in a careless shrug. "I'm _hot." _

Naruto and Sasuke both scoffed in an unison, finding that statement ridiculous. However, that didn't mean it wasn't true. The blonde bomber was decked out in a fitted black T shirt with sleeves that showed off his muscles quite nicely, and that stopped halfway at his elbows. A vest covered his chest, with little pockets on the front filled with who knows what. One would think clay, but there was a better chance of throwing stars and the like filling those pockets. The vest was a dark blue, slightly resembling the vest that Kakashi and Yamato wore, but not. He wore simple black pants with a belt, but the small pouches that hung at his sides were questioning. Deidara's hands had fingerless gloves on them, for obvious reasons.

Sasuke wore something similar to his outfit before being captured by Konoha, but his skirt thing wasn't there. Instead, pants filled that position. A sword, most likely a katana, was hanging on his back, though it was hidden by a decent sized backpack that both him and Deidara had. The onyx didn't have gloves like the other jailed member did, but his arms were covered in bandage all the way up to his elbows. His wrists had cuffs on them, which Sakura assumed was the charka restraints. They could be easily dismissed as thick bracelets. Sasuke wore the same untucked, zip up shirt he usually did.

.. Stylish.

Accompanying the two boys were two ANBUs. Because of the silent and masked men, it was too awkward for them to converse amongst themselves. Kakashi, late as always, was the last one make it. He began to apologize, using the excuse of helping an elderly lady, but all of them told him to shush up before he could start. The ANBU motioned for the silver headed man to come, and they had a quiet, one sided conversation. No doubt that he was just receiving orders, not a chitchat. When the three where finished with that, both ANBUs disappeared.

"They're not coming?" Sasuke asked quietly, eyes glancing around the area for any signs that he was wrong.

"Nope," the masked elder replied shortly, beginning to walk out of the gates. When realizing that the othersweren't coming, he turned and raised his single eyebrow at them. "What, are you coming on this mission or not?" That got all of them to run and catch up with him.

* * *

One full day of walking was finally over.

Team Seven arrived in the little town of Oshiro. Before entering the town, Kakashi had made them all change into the 'tourist' clothes that they were instructed to bring, so suspicion would rise upon their appearances. After they all checked into the hotel that Tsunade was reluctant enough to agree to paying for, the group climbed the stairs up to the two rooms the Lady Hokage had granted.

"So.. How're we going to split this up?" Sakura asked, as they stood before the two rooms that were across each other.

"I'll take Naruto and Sai," Kakashi said, beginning to open the door on the left. Naruto began to argue how it would be better to have him with Sakura, so that those 'criminals wouldn't do anything to hurt her'. Deidara pouted at that, putting his still gloved hands on his hips. "She can handle it. If anything happens, we'll hear them. Plus, she can just cut their windpipes, if necessary," the sensi replied to the supposedly future Hokage, walking into the room. Sakura grinned to herself, liking the idea of that.

"Catch!" Sai called from inside the room, tossing the key out to the three outside. Sakura's palm was opened to grab it, but Deidara, being taller, snatched it first.

"H-Hey!" she stammered, watching as the blonde moved to open the door. The second it was unlocked, the artist turned the knob and opened the entrance, though, he was pushed out of the way as Sakura rammed right through him, with Sasuke following behind quietly.

"_Rude," _Deidara scoffed, getting to his feet.

.

An hour later, the three sat at the counter in the kitchen, all showered and fed. The sun had set; night was here. Sasuke was quiet, which was normal, with his head in his palm and eyes looking elsewhere. Deidara had his gloves off, and he was messing with the stitchings on his palms that sealed his poor babies. Sakura sat with her head down, chin resting on the tops of her arm. She was too tired to scold the blonde in front of her to cut it out, so she watched.

Giving up with that minutes later, Deidara leaned back in his chair. "This is _boring, _yeah. Lets go out into town and cause havoc," he proposed, to basically no one.

"Can't," Sakura responded, eyes fluttering close. "Kakashi-sensi says we have to stay in our rooms."

"So when do we get to go out? I've had enough of you twats."

"Tomorrow. The festival doesn't begin till another two days, so the we'll most likely spend them scaling the grounds or something ninja-like."

Sasuke hn'ed. "Sounds boring."

"_See_? Even the Uchiha brat agrees with me," Deidara said, looking at the already asleep Sakura. Both onyx and blue eyes exchanged glances at each other, but the blonde soon got up from his seat and dashed into the room he was sharing with Sasuke. The avenge sighed, seeing he'd be the one to bring his friend.. Acquaintance? Enemy? _Sakura_ back to her room. Gingerly picking her petite body up in a bridal style, Sasuke held her to his chest, looking down at her innocent face. That travel must have been hard on her, considering how she barely rustled. Someone could walk right in with intent to kill her, and she wouldn't even know it. However, the healer would only allow herself to sleep this deeply if she felt she was in safe hands. Sasuke recalled this little fact from the many missions they went on together, back in the old days, when they were simply children. A moment passed by as he thought back to these old memories, but they were soon abandoned.

After laying the girl on her bed, the onyx glanced around the room. Left with nothing to do, Sasuke sat on the floor in between the two beds, staring out the window at the dark world outside. His mind wandered, pondering on what this little mission would bring. Yes, it was a total waste of time. He could be out there, challenging rouges and hunting for Itachi. Hell, Sasuke would rather waste time with his other cell than with pathetic little Team Seven. It didn't matter how much he still cared for his childhood friends; the more time he wasted here, the more breaths Itachi Uchiha was taking. Teeth gritting in anger, the avenger remembered why he left Konoha in the first place. These guys were a joke.

Sasuke let out a sigh of frustration. Here he was, torn between Itachi and cell number Seven, for the second time in his lifetime. When he pulled that picture frame down, he always thought that would be the last time he would have to break his own heart over them- Never would have he guessed he'd have to go through this crap again. Running a hand through his spiky hair, the fatigue from today's walk was finally kicking in. Eyes slowly closing, Sasuke fell asleep, right there on the floor. He was to tired to care if his back would hurt like hell in the morning.

Soon after, Deidara poked his blonde head in. Sasuke hadn't come to the room next door, so curiosity sparked and the blonde went to go satisfy it. He saw the two old friends, content in their dreams. "Hmph.." he hummed, wondering how high the chances of killing the both of them would be. Suddenly feeling left out, the artist moved to sit on the extra bed next to Sakura's, careful not to step on Sasuke. He was already grumpy during the day; Who knows how grumpy he'd be if he were to be awakened from his slumber.

Deidara laid his head down on the pillow, looking up at the ceiling with his arms folded underneath his head. His mind automatically began to go through the fantasies he would normally go through, but seeing as he was outside, in the open, his thoughts drifted to something else for a change. Like how likely his chances of getting away were.. But the artist was in no hurry to get back to the Akatsuki. He hated that organization, after all. Perhaps he'd just wait around for them to come to him. No longer able to keep his eyelids up, Deidara joined the bandwagon and fell asleep with the other two.

.

Sunlight streamed through the glass window, disturbing Sakura's rest, waking her mind before her body. Sitting up, she stretched out her limbs, feeling decent but ready for the day. That must of been some sleep. For a moment, she sat there, looking around at Deidara's messy bedhead and Sasuke's slouched figure, smiling sleepily at their innocence faces. Wait.. _Deidara's_ bedhead and _Sasuke's _figure? Her gears started to turn, jade eyes widening in alarm. Sakura quickly looked down at herself, relieved that she was still in her T shirt and jogging pants from last night. Good. So nothing bad happened, other than the boys sleeping in her room.

The boys slept in her room.

_How long have they been here? _the healer wondered, grabbing hold of a pillow and hugging it to herself. Her eyes glanced at the clock on the nightstand, numbers reading 7:12. Too early to go bother the other boys for breakfast. Did room service bring food up this early? _Oh, who even cares? Aren't you bother that these guys slept in our room? _Inner Sakura demanded, fussing. _Those perverts were probably watching us in our sleep! _Ignoring her, Outer Sakura raised the pillow in her hands and smacked it against Sasuke once, and then throwing it at Deidara. _  
_

"Rise and shine!" she chirped happily at their unamused faces, pretending not to be bothered that they were in her room. "Its seven-something."

"Seven? Too early," the artist replied, in a pretty sexy sleepy voice. He flopped back down against the pillows. "I'm going back to sleep, yeah."

"Sleeping with the enemy around isn't a good idea," Sasuke taunted as he stood up, but it was no use. The artist was already back in his dreams. The more the onyx stood there, the more pain was being sent to his back. He groaned quietly to himself, rubbing his neck. (Sakura also found this groan quite sexy as well.) "I knew that was a bad idea," he murmured, but it was loud enough for Sakura to hear.

"I could.. Heal your back for you," she offered, slowly, eyeing him with a little suspicion. If he knew sleeping on the floor wasn't good for him, why did he do it in the first place?

Sasuke shook his head, declining from her offer. "I'll survive," he replied, leaving the room.

Slightly disappointed, the pinkette fell back against the pillows. "Ugh.." This was going to be a long day. Remembering Deidara on the other bed, she rolled off her's and climbed on top of the Akatsuki member. "Wake up, bum!" she said loudly in his ear, causing him to wiggle underneath her. "Wake up or I'll push you off!" Sakura honestly didn't care if Deidara decided to sleep all day; she just wanted to change into better clothes. The blonde ignored her orders, leaving Sakura no choice but to go ahead and push him off the mattress. Whether or not that was a charka infused push, she won't say.

"You heartless bitch!" Deidara whined from the floor, rolling around. "I was having pleasant dreams, yeah!"

"Good morning to you, too," Sakura said, sarcasm rolling off her tongue. "Do me a favor and get out. I have to change, _yeah." _

Pulling himself to rest his arms on the mattress, the artist narrowed his eyes at her, wondering if that added _yeah _at the end was supposed to be mocking him. "Why should I? Its not like I'd have anything to look at," he shot back, almost challenging her, as a sly smirk graced his lips. Highly annoyed and offended, Sakura kicked his face with her bare foot, kicking him back onto the ground.

"You didn't object it, so it _must _be true that your boobs are too small."

It wasn't even ten yet, and Sakura already found herself trying to kill one of the boys.

Sasuke pulled the door open, changed into fresh new clothes, only to be greeted by the sight of Sakura trying to choke Deidara's laughs away. Clearing his throat, he grabbed both of their attention as two pairs of eyes glanced over at him. "What?" the artist asked, laughter gone and a more threatening look on his face. It didn't phase the Uchiha survivor one bit.

"Just letting you know Kakashi wants us all at his room by nine," the onyx stated, as if this wasn't out of the ordinary. Hell, when Karin and Suigetsu are put in the same cell, one could get very used to a lot of violent and strange things. "Carry on." With a quick movement, Sasuke disappeared behind the door as it shut with a _click. _

There was a brief pause between the blonde and pinkette, as both pondered on what to do now. Sakura realized her hands were still on his throat, and she quickly let go. Realizing he was free from her demon grip, Deidara pushed her off and stood up, brushing away false dirt from his shirt. As the kunoichi laid on the carpeted ground, shooting death glares form her jade orbs, she noticed that the blonde's long hair wasn't in its usual ponytail. Her eyes also spotted some tangles, but so did he. Grumbling in annoyance, Deidara began to rake his fingers through his locks.

"No, don't do that!" Sakura exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "You'll pull your hair out."

"Like hell would I care about that-" Deidara was cut off as the girl pushed him onto one of the beds. Dashing to her backpack, she rummaged around for something until her face lit up, indicating that she found her treasure. His blue eyes only watched as she came closer, climbing to sit behind him on the bed. "What're you doing?" the Akatsuki member questioned, as he felt sharp pulls from behind.

"Brushing your hair. I've always wanted to do this, ever since I saw you sitting on Gaara," Sakura admitted, like this was a casual thing to be talking about. Though, it was true. During girls nights out, a popular subject between the four kunoichi were some of the Akatsuki member's hair and the products they used. The pinkette would go on and on, complaining how jealous she was of Deidara's hair. Ino would always laugh at that, saying how she basically had that same hair. But it wasn't the same. Not only was Ino's hair lighter, but it just wasn't Deidara's. Sakura never would of thought she'd get this chance to brush his glorious, golden locks.

Deidara, on the other hand, didn't find this amusing. ".. Right." Ten short minutes later, she was done. His fingers ran through his hair, in search of a tangle. Not a single one was found. The bomber was impressed. "Good job, I guess. My hair's never been brushed so nicely before, yeah," he admitted quietly, standing up, still fussing over his hair.

Sakura waved a hand, dismissively. "No problem. Now, you should really get out. We have to be ready at Kakashi's soon, remember?"

"Oh.. Yeah," Deidara's legs carried him over to the door, but before he stepped out, his eyes glanced back to meet a pair of waiting jades. "Okay, well. See you later, yeah." Door clicking shut, a sigh escaped his lips. _That_ was an awkward farewell. On the other side, Sakura thought so, too, but she was giggling over it. Deidara was such a dork, it was hilarious.

* * *

"So," Kisame's voice started, booming through the otherwise silent hospital room. "Are you ready to go and rescue Blonde-y?" he questioned, resting a blue hand on his hip.

A pair of dull, brown eyes shifted up to meet the shark man's beady eyes. There was a nod of his head.

"Well, lets get going. Itachi's waiting for us, and I know how you don't like to keep people waiting." The taller man turned away, exiting the room. The cloaked figure waited for a few more seconds to pass by, before standing up on its own. Good.. Its legs still seemed to be in working order. Hopefully, it was the same case for the weapons inside it. The figure soon left the room, following after Kisame to reunite with Itachi outside.

* * *

**A/N**; woot woot, updates are fun. Especially when there's inspiration. This chapter was sort of a filler, just to build anticipation for the events I have in store. c; I had a lot of fun writing this one, too. Cute fluffy stuff is my thing. So long for now!


End file.
